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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The sins of Sarah Palin

POLITICO - By Roger Simon - July 7, 2009

She has made herself an outcast to the mandarins, the pooh-bahs and the elites. So how can she go wrong?

Let us list just some of the political commandments she has recently violated:Thou shalt not surprise the media.Palin announces she is quitting her job as governor of Alaska, and she catches everybody by surprise. What is up with that?Where were the leaks and the trial balloons? Why weren’t the media alerted so they could have predicted it?When you do what the media have predicted, you are “savvy.” You are a “skilled” and “adept” politician.If you surprise the media, however, you are “out of control” and “bizarre” and even “egotistical.” (Though I have always believed that accusing politicians of being egotistical is like accusing ballerinas of dancing on their toes.)How badly do some in the media take to surprise? Here is CNN’s Rick Sanchez on Palin’s announcement that she was leaving office prematurely. “Is there anything going on with her that perhaps may lead her to want to make this decision, and the one thing that’s still left out there is, hey, could she be pregnant again?” Sanchez asked.Could be, Rick. Or maybe it was just her time of month, because, hey, that’s why woman politicians make the decisions they do, right?But you can see why some in the media were shocked and dismayed. Imagine abandoning your office! Imagine quitting and deserting the voters who elected you!Though this is what Bob Dole did in 1996, didn’t he? Dole resigned his Senate seat to run for president. I remember it. I was standing right there when he did it. And I don’t recall anybody accusing him of being a quitter. Or of being pregnant. (see full article)